WASHINGTON -- South Florida Congressman Alcee Hastings claimed vindication on Tuesday when a federal judge dismissed allegations that he had sexually harassed a former employee of a human-rights group under his supervision.

"I appreciate the court's ruling," said Hastings, D-Miramar. "As I have said repeatedly, this whole thing is ridiculous, bizarre, frivolous, and has wasted – and is still wasting – a whole lot of folks' time and money. In a race with a lie, the truth always wins."

Winsome Packer, a staff representative in Vienna for the U.S. Helsinki Commission, brought the suit against Hastings along with his former chief of staff Fred Turner and the commission claiming the congressman made crude remarks and unwanted sexual advances. She also claimed that Hastings and Turner retaliated by threatening her job for complaining.

U.S. District Judge Barbara Rothstein dismissed the claims against Hastings and Turner, but the lawsuit continues against the commission, based on Packer's allegations.

Rothstein did not decide whether Hastings' actions were improper but ruled that Packer could not sue him and Turner on the constitutional grounds she claimed. The claims against the commission derive from the Congressional Accountability Act, but the claims against the individuals were brought on grounds that don't apply, the judge said.

"The court finds that plaintiff [Packer] has failed to state claims upon which relief can be granted against these defendants," she wrote.

The court's action brought immediate relief to Hastings and Turner, but did not end the matter. The House ethics committee -- based on the recommendation of an advisory panel, the Office of Congressional Ethics -- is reviewing the same allegations against Hastings.

Packer and her legal representative, Judicial Watch, could not be reached for comment.

The interactions took place from January 2008 through February 2010. Packer asserted that the congressman pressed his body against her and made crude remarks, including asking about her underwear. Hastings denied it.

"I never had a romantic or sexual interest in her, nor did I ever express or otherwise suggest that I had any such interest," he said last month. He accused Packer of using the lawsuit to promote a self-published novel called "A Personal Agenda" that purports to examine sexual harassment in Congress "inspired by her own experiences."

"It is also no coincidence that Ms. Packer is represented by Judicial Watch, a conservative organization that has targeted Democrats in general and me in particular," he said.

Judicial Watch, a conservative advocacy group, warned House leaders in 2006 not to name Hastings the chairman of the intelligence committee. The group cited his removal as a U.S. district judge in Miami in 1989 on impeachment charges that he had conspired to accept a bribe.

Hastings was acquitted by a jury of the bribery accusation and has always maintained his innocence. But he was impeached and removed from the bench on the lesser standard of "clear and convincing evidence."

He was elected to the House three years later and served alongside members who had once voted to impeach him.

"Today, the truth prevailed in a court of law," Hastings said on Tuesday, "and I am glad to see that these bogus allegations have finally been dismissed."